Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman Extends Contract Through 2018

The president and CEO of Viacom had previously been under contract until Dec. 31, 2016.

Philippe Dauman has extended his contract as Viacom president and CEO for an additional two years, keeping him at the helm of the conglomerate whose assets include MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures through the end of 2018.

Dauman has been a Viacom board member since 1987 and was named CEO in September, 2006, shortly after the company split from CBS. Since then, Viacom shares have more than doubled when stock splits and dividends are taken into consideration, outperforming the 50 percent rise notched by the S&P 500 in that time frame.

Dauman's extension doesn't change his base salary and he'll continue to be eligible for equity awards and other bonuses. He made $37.2 million in total compensation in the company's most recently reported full year.

"Philippe has been my long-term partner in building Viacom into the global entertainment powerhouse that it is today," said Viacom executive chairman and founder Sumner Redstone. "He has been an extraordinary CEO over more than eight years and his strategic vision and creative leadership have delivered consistently outstanding operational and financial results."

That being said, Viacom posted $13.78 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, down slightly from a year earlier, though earnings per share rose a healthy 12 percent.

Before the extension announced on Thursday, Dauman's contract was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2016.

Separately on Thursday, Viacom said it would pay a quarterly cash dividend of 33 cents per share on April 1 to shareholders of record March 13.